
Glass. 
Book. 



Causes of National 0olicitube, 

A Jl£L. 

~7Jy" 

S E R M I 



PREACHED IN 



THE TniRTEENTU STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, NEW YORK, 



ON THANKSGIVING DAY, NOV. 25, 1847. 



REV. SAMUEL D. BURCHARD. 



NEW YORK: 

S. W. BENEDICT, 16 SPRUCE STREET. 

1848. 



New York, Dec. Ist, 1847. 

Rev. and Dear Sir, — 

The unij^rsigned, having listened on Thanksgiving-day, with deep in- 
terest, to your Sermon, entitled " Causes of National Solicitude," and believ- 
ing that its truths are eminently adapted to the times, and that its circulation 
would exert a salutary influence, respectfully and earnestly solicit a cojiy for 
publication. 

With sentiments of respect, we are affectionately yours, 

JOHN P. GUMMING, 
JAMES GREEN, 
JAMES STRIITHERS, 
THOMAS GUMMING, 
DEXTER FAIRBANK, 
AMHERST WIGHT, 
JONATHAN DANFORTH, 

C. L. BARNES, 

D. KNIGHT. 



To Messrs. John P. Gumming, J. Green, and others. 

Gentlemen, — I herewith submit, agreeably to your request, for the press, 
what, amid pressing pastoral duties, I had prepared and designed only for the 
pulpit. If, however, in your judgment, its publication will serve to awaken 
the community to a sense of their duty and danger, I cheerfully yield it to 
your disposal. 

I have the honor, to be respectfully, your obedient servant, 

S. D. BURCHARD. 



SEKMON. 



" Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.""— Psalms ii : 11. 

We are assembled to-day, my hearers, at the call of the 
Chief Magistrate of our State. This day "witnesses a sub- 
lime spectacle in the history of our country. It is interest- 
ing and encouraging to behold, in our Chief Magistrates, a 
disposition publicly to recognise the overruling Providence 
of God. Whether they are called to this by custom or ex- 
ample, or by a conscious sense of duty and obligation, it is, 
of itself^ an occasion for gratitude. The duty of public 
thanksgiving, for national blessings, is recognised in the 
Bible, and is consonant with the purest feelings of Christian 
patriotism. It became an annual custom with our Puritan 
fathers. It has prevailed, with more or less uniformity, down 
to the present time. It is also an interesting coincidence, 
that this day has been set apart, and will be observed by 
so many of the States of this Union. May we not suppose, 
if there be patriotic joy in heaven, that the Sainted Spirits, 
who watched over our institutions in their early formation, 
are filled with extatic delight at this day's spectacle ? They 
behold not a single State, but as it were, a nation gathered 
from their worldly business and cares to present the offer- 
ings of praise and thanksgiving to God. In these humble 
services are furnished the pledges of fealty and fidelity to the 
trust committed to their hands. So long aa the Providence 



of God, and the duty of prayer, and public thanksgiving are 
recognised by magistrates and the people, there is hope for 
our country, even in the darkest hour of her peril. There 
are times, indeed, in a nation's history, when humiliation, 
confession, and sorrow, are the most appropriate of' all reli- 
gious duties. When heavy judgments are abroad in the 
land, when we are suffering because of our national sins, 
when pestilence, famine or war, these messengers of the 
divine vengeance, are doing their work of death ; then, fast- 
ing instead of feasting' — mourning instead of rejoicing, are 
the more appropriate exercises. And if we mistake not, we 
have fallen upon such times. True, no hostile foe has in- 
vaded our territory, disease and famine have not been com- 
missioned to do their awful work. Our fields, on the 
contrary, have yielded an abundant increase — our land 
abounds with plenty — our husbandmen are rejoicing in the 
fruits of their labors — " the pestilence that walketh in dark- 
ness, and that wasteth at noonday," is not known in all our 
borders. But still, an ominous cloud is hanging over us — 
there are existing and operating causes of national decay — 
there are disturbing elements — there are positive develop- 
ments that God has a controversy with this nation. While 
then, on this day of public festivity, we would rejoice, we 
should do it discriminately, we should do it with trembling. 
The text has been selected as an exponent of the above 
thoughts. It encourages religious joy. It fans the dying 
flame, and bids us hope, when hope is almost ready to ex- 
pire. Joy in God is inculcated throughout the Bible. The 
apostle says, " Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, 
rejoice." The whole gospel system, with its provisions and 
promises, is calculated to create a well-spring of joy in the 
heart. Its announcement of pardon may well fill us with 
sublime rapture. Its unfolding mysteries, its wonderful dis- 
closures of the secrets of the divine nature are full of encou- 
ragement and hope. There is nothing in the gospel, as 
such, to fill us with trembling. Nothing but sin need excite 



alarm. Nothing but sin makes the caution of our text ap- 
propriate. " Rejoice ivith trembling.''^ Sin personal jeo- 
pards the interests of the soul — sin national endangers the 
peace, the prosperity, the safety of a country. While then, 
we would rejoice, in view of the gospel, its ample provisions 
and promises, its blessings, present and prospective, personal 
and national, we would rejoice with trembling. Sin modi- 
fies and limits our joy, makes us even tremulous and solici- 
tous, as we put the cup of blessing to our lips. While 
then, we come before the Lord with thanksgiving and joy, 
for his blessings vouchsafed and manifold, it will not be 
deemed, I trust, inappropriate to stale some of the present 
aspects of our country which should tend to modify and 
chasten our joy. Gratitude is the deeper and purer, when 
God's mercies are viewed in contrast with our own ill deserts. 

THE CAUSES OF NATIONAL SOLICITUDE WILL CONSTITUTE THE 
THEME OF THE PRESENT DISCOURSE. 

I. l^he first cause of national solicitude, which I mention, 
is the almost entire withdrawraent of the converting influ- 
ences of the Holy Spirit from our land. 

We hesitate not to say, that the safety of this country is 
in God, and in the universal prevalence and triumph of his 
doctrines and truth. The conservative influences of Chris- 
tianity must permeate through the mass of the people. 
Like the soft enfolding atmosphere, they must be felt every- 
where, in the halls of legislation, at the public exchange, in 
the daily duties and activities of life. The religion of the 
Bible must become the religion of the land, summoning its 
votaries from every cottage and palace to its altars of devo- 
tion. Its sanctions and restraints must be felt by all classes 
— its institutions must be honored, its precepts obeyed, and 
its spirit imbibed. Now for this prevalence of Bible reli- 
gion, we are dependent on the Holy Spirit. The commu- 
nity can be reached, by its restraining influence, only 
through the conversion of individuals ; the world is to be con- 



8 

verted only by this individual process. The Savior is to see 
of the travail of his soul only, as the Spirit triumphs over in- 
dividual hearts. By this method, the wilderness is to be- 
come a fruitful field, and the desert rejoice and blossom 
as the rose. If there were no individual conversions, the in- 
fluence of Christianity would die out from our world; its 
light would soon cease to shine upon the high places of the 
earth. 

Now, how are individuals to be converted ? " Not by 
might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." It 
is not sufficient that we have the truth, an able ministry, and 
the holy ordinances ; these, of themselves, will fail to pro- 
duce the desired and necessary result. We say, therefore, 
that the converting influences of the Holy Spirit are the 
hope of this nation. If they are totally withdrawn, all is lost ! 
The forms of religion may continue to be observed, but its 
moulding and conservative power is gone, its salutary re- 
straints are removed, its hold upon the public conscience is 
relaxed, and the natural and necessary consequence is the 
prevalence of scepticism, the downfal of truth, the reign of 
unbridled lust and passion. Law and order are set at de- 
fiance, the Sabbath is desecrated, the altars of religion are 
broken down, and the very foundations of the social 
system are put in jeopardy. 

Such are some of the direct or remote consequences of a 
withdrawal of the converting influences of the divine Spirit. 
When God is about to destroy a nation, as a general rule of 
his administration, he first leaves them to fill up the mea- 
sure of their iniquities. Hence, when the divine forbearance 
was exhausted, and Jerusalem was about to be destroyed, 
mysterious voices were heard in the temple, saying — " Let 
us go hence" the temple was deserted and the city, with all 
the pride of her learning, and the glory of her wealth, was 
left to sit in the dust of humiliation, and weep over the ruins 
of her fallen grandeur. 

What, then, is the aspect of our country in relation to the 



9 

presence or absence of the Holy Spirit ? This inquiry is full 
of painful and practical interest. I am constrained to say, 
that it is a dark day for this country. Perhaps never, in its 
whole history, has there been such a dearth of revivals — such 
a total eclipse of the Sun of Righteousness — such an univer- 
sal vvithdrawment of the converting influences of the Holy 
Spirit ; and as a consequence, such pride, such worldliness, 
such impiety, such reckless daring in sinning, such profa- 
nations of the Sabbath, such political intrigues, such circum- 
ventions, such frenzy for office, such a readiness to sacrifice 
conscience at the shrine of mammon, or on the altar of some 
sensual deity. It would seem, that the day of our national 
retribution had already come, and that we are nearing a 
crisis which will dissolve us into fragments; thus giving 
another illustration of the instability of human governments. 
Our only effectual security against this, is in the return of 
the Spirit's influences. This will save us from a doom 
which has befallen more powerful nations before us. We 
cannot rely upon the wisdom of our legislators, or upon 
the excellence of our republican form of government, or 
upon the mere apparatus of the gospel system. We need 
the vitalizing and converting influences of God's Spirit. 
We need a return of such days as were witnessed by Ed- 
wards, and Whitfield, and the Tennants, such as we our- 
selves have witnessed, when sinners were pricked in their 
hearts, and cried, " Men and brethren, what shall we do to 
be saved?" I look along the moral map of nations, and I 
see that such seasons of Spiritual refreshing are not peculiar 
to this country. They are not strictly American in their 
character ; they are associated with the moral history of 
those nations, the light of whose Christianity is encircling 
the world. I turn to India, and there comes to me floating 
on the still air from the spicy groves of Ceylon, songs, soft 
and sweet as the songs which the dark-eyed daughters of 
Judah sang to their King in Zion ; and from the far off isles 
of the ocean, I hear infant voices, mingling with the 



10 

stern but subdued tones of old warriors, singing, not their 
terrible battle songs, to their war-gods, as they dance around 
their altars, but the songs of Zion to Zion's King ; and I see, 
in these, the triumphs of the Spirit and the pledges of the 
world's conversion. In these I rejoice, but when I look to 
my own country, I do it with trembling. The Spirit, in his 
converting influences, is absent — absent because of our sins 
■ — absent, when God is willing and waiting to be gracious, 
absent too when we have the assurance that He is more 
ready to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him, than 
earthly parents are to give good gifts unto their children. 
For this absence of the Spirit, there is deep guilt some- 
where, there is overwhelming responsibility somewhere. 
The gospel of the blessed God is preached, but ministers 
are compelled to retire from their labors with the complaint 
of the prophet upon their lips, "Who hath believed our re- 
port, and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?" 

n. As a second cause of national solicitude, I mention the 
asperity of political party feeling. 

Honest differences of opinion among men, in this world 
are to be expected. They exist in the social and religious 
world and upon almost every subject. Men occupy differ- 
ent points of observation, see objects through different me- 
diums, and arrive at very different conclusions. All minds 
are not cast in the same mould, or educated under the same 
influences; and will not move in the same direction. In 
this country especially, where men are permitted to think for 
themselves, on the great national questions settled at the 
ballotbox, different — sometimes conflicting^ opinions — will be 
urged and advocated. This, of itself, is not an evil. It 
tends to awaken the mental energies of a people — to diffuse 
general intelligence, and impose a salutary and restraining 
influence over dominant political parties. Some friction is 
incidental to a republican form of government, and unless it 
be so great as to jostle the ivhole machinery, it is no detri- 



11 

ment, but rather a service. The danger is in excess, and 
especially where there are powerful local interests ope- 
rating, as in different sections of this country. The South 
has interests somewhat separate and peculiar — the North, 
East, and West have interests. The advocates of these in- 
terests meet in a general Congress, each zealous to protect 
and promote that which they severally represent. And 
when these wide-spread interests come into collision, as 
they sometimes do, the whole country feels the shock. 
Marty of our representatives, unlike the lofty and liberal 
minded patriots of other days, too often become the tools of 
a party, the slaves of a selfish and sordid ambition, and the 
great question with them is, not what measures are best 
adapted to promote the general good, but what will secure 
their re-election — win for them the spoils of office and the 
laurels of a political triumph ? Lofty and disinterested 
patriotism is a thing too little known in these days of party 
management and political intrigue. We speak of this, as a 
common evil, not confined to either of the great political par- 
ties of this country, an evil that threatens the stability and 
safety of the social fabric. And this evil is enhanced at every 
recurring election. Every such event is like the tread of 
an earthquake — the elements of society are convulsed. Sec- 
tional jealousies and the spirit of party are kindled to a rage 
— the whole machinery of political raanceuvre is put in motion 
— the dregs of a foreign population, who have not as yet 
learned the alphabet of our institutions, are driffed and mar- 
shalled for the conflict — the most exciting appeals are made 
to the worst passions of the carnal heart — public and private 
character is shamelessly vilified. Truth, justice, magna- 
nimity, '^intelligence, patriotism, are qualifications seldom 
sought or demanded in the candidate for public favor. 
" Does he belong to our party ?" " Will he adopt and de- 
fend our measures ?" " Will he distribute the spoils of of- 
fice to those who have served him ?" Such are some of the 
inquiries of those, whose patriotism is all on their lips and 



12 

whose hearts have never felt its noble and generous pulsa- 
tions. Now, my brethren, I must confess I tremble in view 
of this party spirit. It is so rank, reckless, and terrible, that 
I am afraid of it. I fear our beloved institutions cannot 
long survive under its withering and blasting influence. I 
look back upon the history of the past and remember, that 
Rome was never conquered, until the spirit of party pre- 
vailed ; and then her strength was weakened and the ele- 
ments of her decay were manifest. While united, while the 
spirit of patriotism breathed through her council-chambers, 
whether governed by consuls, kings or dictators, she was 
both the terror and the admiration of the world. Jerusalem 
fell not into the hands of her enemies, nor did the sacred 
songs of the Levites in the temple give place to the rude 
jests of an uncircumcised soldiery, until she became divided. 
We might refer to other nations, that have stood, like a 
tower of strength and beauty, until internal divisions and 
party strifes have weakened their energies and rendered 
them an easy prey to their conquering foes. We need no 
prophetic voice to tell, that a nation's days are numbered, 
when party spirit becomes rife and reckless of principle. 
What, then, is our danger ? Not the arms of a foreign foe ; 
but like Csesar in the capitol, we may fall by the hands of 
our boasted friends. The asperity and violence of party 
spirit, unless modified and checked, may prove our ruin. 
What, then, is our duty as patriots and Christians'? I an- 
swer, to frown upon it and discourage it — to use our elective 
franchise for the good of the whole country— to vote for men 
of intelligence and sound principle, irrespective of party — 
to freely sacrifice individual prejudices and sectional jea- 
lousies on the altar of our country's good. This is the spirit 
of true patriotism — the spirit which God will own and honor 
— the spirit of our worthy sires, around whom the halo of 
everlasting admiration dwells; and untiU/ti5 spirit becomes 
widely and universally diffused, we must rejoice with trem- 
bling solicitude. 



13 

III. I mention the aspect of our country, in relation to 
slavery, as a third cause of national solicitude. 

The time has come, when we must look at this subject, 
not timidly, not evasively, not in the spirit of angry denun- 
ciation, but as Christian patriots, who love our country and 
seek her highest weal. The world is looking at it and at W5, 
with a frown of lofty indignation, because we hold three 
millions of our fellow men in hopeless vassalage, while we 
are boasting of our free lorn and the glory of our institu- 
tions. 

There is a manifest inconsistency here, which is a deep 
and burning disgrace to this nation. I am aware of the 
sensitiveness of the public mind on this general subject and 
of the disposition to muzzle the mouth of the preacher and 
the press. But this humble pulpit shall speak out, at appro- 
priate times, clearly, and plainly on the great moral and im- 
portant questions that agitate the country for which our 
fathers periled their lives. There are times, when it is the 
duty of ministers of Christ to look at national evils and ex- 
pose them, in their moral offensiveness, to the public eye ; 
and they cannot be true to their conscience and their trust 
and yet be silent. I claim this to be such a time. "VVe are 
assembled to express our gratitude for national blessings, 
and in contrast to contemplate our national sins. I need 
not pause to argue the question, before an assembly of intel- 
ligent freemen, whether slavery be a sin. Can there be a 
doubt of the moral wrongfulness of that system which takes 
a human being, made in God's own image, with aspirations 
high as heaven, and plunders him of all his dearest rights, 
stifles every generous and lofty feeling — loads him with 
qhains, and herds him with cattle ? Whatever the law may 
say of this individual — let it term him a chattel or a thing; 
yet ne is a man — d. fellow man — an immortal creature ! And 
still a slave in a free, civilized, and Christian country ! 

" Go where he may, he feels himself confined. 
And wear* the fetters of an abject mind." 



14 

Alas ! I blush for my country's wrongs, and can almost 
make the language of another my own. 

" Awa}' ! away, I'd rather hold my neck 
By doubtful tenure from a Sultan's beck, 
In climes, where liberty has scarce been named, 
Nor any right but that of ruling claim'd. 
Than thus to live, where boasted freedom waves , 

Her fustian flag, in mockery o'er slaves." 

Talk as you may of the lenity of individual masters, the sys- 
tem is a dark, cold, cruel system, that knows no mercy and 
feels no relenting. It is, in my view, the concentration of 
all moral wrong, the very climax of iniquity ; land under the 
deep, dismal shadows of the system is perpetrated and sanc- 
tioned almost every crime of the decalogue. And yet this 
is an American system, recognised in her constitution, sup- 
ported by her laws, and often made the passport to her posts 
of honor and political emolument. I confess, my bre- 
thren, when I contemplate the workings of this system, its 
aspiring spirit, its struggles for the balance of power, its 
determination to defy the sentiment of the world, and extend 
and perpetuate its dark dominions ; when I view these things, 
I tremble for my country. I tremble, not only for her honor, 
but her institutions, — -that legacy of the valor and patriotism 
and heroic deeds of the honored dead. She cannot long 
endure against the clanking chains of three millions of man- 
acled slaves, each crying to heaven for redress ! If there is 
any such thing as justice, if there is any intelligence to be 
derived from the pages of the past ; this nation, as a nation,' 
unless this curse be removed, will as certainly crumble into 
decay, as that God sits a Sovereign on his throne, and is 
the avenger of the oppressed. 

All the science, history, and philosophy of the universe can 
never turn away the sword of national retribution. And 
what shall be said of the direct tendencies of this system 
upon the character and destiny of this great republic — of 
that dark, doleful spirit brooding ominously over so large a 
portion of this land ? I introduce it to your sober considera- 



15 

tion, as, beyond all doubt, one of the most obvious and terri- 
ble elements of social dissolution that could possibly have 
been imparted to our general constitution. Its demoralizing 
and ruinous tendencies are not confined to one region of the 
country, but spread themselves on the commerce, politics, 
and popular sentiment, not only of these States, but wherever 
our name and influence extend. 

We need, my brethren, something more than idle decla- 
mation and angry contention over this subject. For the 
safe and speedy removal of this great evil — this ulcer upon 
our body politic, we need the prayers of all good men, the 
wisdom of statesmen, and the blessing of God. This secured, 
then hope would revive and Heaven stay the descending 
bolt. Our country would stand, as a proud and peerless 
illustration of the principle, that intelligent freemen can be 
just to others, and yet govern themselves — a rebuke to the 
grinding despotisms of the old world — the asylum of liberty, 
and the home of the oppressed. 

IV. I mention the existing war with Mexico, as a fourth 
cause of national solicitude. 

A state of peace is the only appropriate and healthy condi- 
tion of a nation — a state in which she may cultivate her soil, 
improve her manufactures, extend her commerce, model and 
perfect her institutions, and promote the cause of internal 
improvement. War tends to defeat these noble ends. It 
impoverishes a nation's treasury, checks her enterprise, crip- 
ples her energies, puts an embargo upon her commerce, and 
paralyzes her best and brightest hopes. It ought, therefore, 
to be regarded as a most dreadful and terrible evil, the curse 
and scourge of nations. I may be permitted to quote the 
language of one trained to the military profession, and now 
a distinguished general of the American army.* He says: 
" If war be the natural state of savage tribes, peace is the first 
want of every civilized community. War, no doubt is, 

* General Scott. 



16 

under any circumstances, a great calamity. Of the two 
parties of any war, one, at least, must be in the wrong, not 
unfrequently both. An error in such an issue is, on the parts 
of chief magistrates, ministers of state, and legislators having 
a voice in the question, a crime of the greatest magnitude. 
The slaying of an individual by an individual is, in compar- 
ative guilt, but a drop of blood. Hence the highest moral 
obligation to treat national differences with temper, justice, 
and fairness ; always to see that the cause of war is not only 
just but sufficient^ to be sure that we do not covet our 
neighbor's lands, nor anything that is his, that we are as 
ready to give, as demand explanation, apology, indemnity ; 
in short, we should especially remember, ' All things, what- 
soever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to 
them.' " 

Such is the opinion and advice of one, who knows, from 
personal experience and observation, the evils of war. Henry 
Clay, in his late speech at Lexington, Kentucky, whose 
sentiments, on this subject, will find a ready response in 
every christian heart, says : " War unhinges society, disturbs 
its peaceful and regular industry, and scatters poisonous seeds 
of disease and immorality, which continue to germinate and 
diffuse their baneful influence, long after it has ceased. Daz- 
zling by its glitter, pomp and pageantry, it begets a spirit of 
wild adventure and romantic enterprise, and often disqualifies 
those who embark in it, after their return from the bloody 
fields of battle, from engaging in the industrious and peace- 
ful vocations of life." To many, there seems something 
noble in " the pomp and circumstance of glorious war"— 
something sublime in the onset of battles, as contending 
legions meet and dash against each other — something gene- 
rous and godlike in the ardor of that chivalrous feeling which 
glows in the hour of danger. We need not say that this 
feeling is fanned to a flame, by the graphic descriptions of 
the histor-an and the poet, who would crown the blood- 
stained hero with the laurels of imperishable renawn. But 



17 

we have no sympathy with this feeling. It is associated in 
our mind with carnage — loith garments rolled in blood. Let 
us survey the field, where two mighty armies are arrayed for 
the work of mutual death. Their passions rage like the 
heavings of a volcano. They rush against each other and 
amid the crash and thunder of arms, the dust and smoke of 
heated artillery, they struggle for victory. With all the 
frenzy of fallen spirits, they multiply heaps of slain until the 
shouts of the victors and the shrieks of the vanquished pro- 
claim that the work of mutual butchery is over ! 

Now visit this scene when the fever-heats of passion have 
subsided, and what do you behold ? A field covered with 
ghastly and disfigured forms, the mutilated bodies of the 
dead and the dying ! Here, is a noble youth cut down in 
the spring-tide of manly promise, perhaps the only support 
of declining age. There, is one calling upon Heaven to pro- 
tect his children, soon to be left fatherless. Another tenderly 
breathes a beloved name consecrated by the most endearing 
tie. Some are spending their last moments uttering the 
most horrid blasphemies, others are pleading piteously for 
the pardon of their sins. The eyes of all wander wistfully 
over the scene that is fast fading from iheir view; and con- 
vulsively do they grasp the hand of those who are mournfully 
bidding them a last farewell. In the contemplation of a scene 
6f such overwhelming sadness, 

" If angels weep, it is at such a sight." 

Is there not something unnatural in all this ; something that, 
exhibits a ferocity in man, with all his boasted sensibility of 
soul, superior to the savage tribe ? The lion leaps upon the an- 
telope — the tiger preys, not upon his kind. But man, endowed 
with reason and intelligence, as if there were no pity in his 
heart, aims to destroy his brother man, that he may gain im- 
mortal honors from the historian and the poet. But who en- 
vies him, though he may have covered himself with military 
glory on a thousand fields ? The blood of murdered men 
2 



and the cries of widows and orphany, are associated with 
his honors and his triumphs ! 

We might as well undertake to separate the lightning's 
vivid flash from the riving thunderbolt, as dissociate in our 
minds the horrors of the battle field from the glories of the 
individual conqueror. 

" war ! M'hat art thou ? 
At once the proof and scourge of man's fallen state ; 
After the brightest conquest, what appears 
Of all thy glories ? for the vanquish'd chains ; 
For the proud victors, what ? Alas ! to reign 
O'er desolated nations." 

Would, my brethren, that there were no special occasion 
for this allusion to the evils of man. But there is ; we are, 
at this moment, engaged in a most unjust and unnecessary 
war with the Republic of Mexico. I mean ive, the people 
of these United States. Whatever may be said of the 
causes leading to this war, or the manner of their agency, 
still it is the war of no particular party — of no section of the 
country — of wo individual. It is the nation's war, made such 
by the first and all the subsequent acts of Congress in rela- 
: tion to it. The nation is responsible for its existence and 
continuance. I recognise therefore in myself, the right and the 
duty to have and to express an opinion in regard to the ori- 
gin and evils of this war. I say, then, that it assumed its 
national character by the utterance of a falsehood upon a 
question of fact. I allude to that part of the declaration of 
war, which spoke of it as existing by the act of Mexico. 

For one, I do not believe that this states the truth. The 
war message of the President, sent to Congress May 11th, 
1846, places the necessity for the war on our part solely on 
the ground, that the Mexicans had invaded our territory, and 
thereon shed American blood. Is this true ? Were we or 
the Mexicans the invaders ? This conflict of arms occurred 
in consequence of the marching of our troops to the Rio 
Grande, opposite to Matamoras, the order for which, was 
given by the President, while Congress was in session, with- 
out any consultation with that body, and while, moreover, a 



19 

•foreign minister was on his way lo the city of Mexico, for 
the purpose of settling the question or questions in dispute 
between the two countries. 

The territory on which American blood was first shed, 
and into which our army had passed, was at this very mo- 
ment claimed by the Mexicans, was in the actual possession 
and under the government of the Mexican nation, and was 
not claimed or governed by tliis nation. I say loas not ; for 
I take it to be a true doctrine, that the opinion of theP resi- 
dent, as to a boundary line in dispute between two countries, 
needs the act of Congress, before the nation is commilted to 
it. Nobody thought of any claim, on our part, to the terri- 
tory lying between the Nueces and the Rio Grande, until 
after the annexation of Texas. Now when we received 
Texas into this confederacy, we certainly did not take all the 
world, but Texas simply as she was, when we found her. 
We therefore did not acquire any more territory than she 
possessed. Had Texas, then, any claim lo this territory be- 
tween the Nueces and the Rio Grande ? Her only pretence 
to such a claim, was founded on a bargain made with Santa 
Anna, when under duress, a prisoner of war, and therefore 
incompetent to contract for the nation, which bargain, more- 
over, the Mexicans never recognised, but always repudiated. 
It is true that the Texians made military efforts, between 1836 
and 1843, to assert this spurious claim, but every one of them 
failed, and left the Mexican nation in full possession of the 
disputed soil. Texas had no claim by treaty, none by pur- 
chase, none by conquest. She had none at all. She came 
into this confederacy, with no right of any kind lo the terri- 
tory in dispute. This was exclusively vested in the Mexi- 
can nation. 

These, I believe, are the facts on this point, and if so, then 
it is not true that the Mexicans invaded our territory and thus 
war existed by the act of Mexico. The exact opposite is the 
truth. We invaded their territory and the ensuing hostilities 
were on their part defensive; on ours aggressive.. 



20 

The language of Senator Benlon, is as true now as when 
uttered. Alluding to an eiibrt to annex Texas and include 
the disputed territory, he says : " The treaty in all that relates 
to the boundary of the Rio Grande, is an act of unparalleled 
outrage on Mexico. It is the seizure of two thousand miles 
of her territory, without a word of explanation with her, 
and by virtue of a treaty with Texas, to which she is no 
party." 

We boldly assert, then, in view of all the facts, that this is 
no war of defence on our part, but purely a war of aggres- 
sion. Mexico is defending her altars, her fire-sides, her cas- 
tles, her temples — noiive. Our soil has not been invaded or 
moistened with one drop of blood. Granting, for a moment, 
the false position of the President, in his war message to 
congress, that we began to repel invasion ; I desire to know 
what our army is doing in the city of Mexico ? Have we 
not, upon this supposition, accomplished our object? 

Why then penetrate her interior, and bombard her cities, 
and murder her citizens, and plunder her wealth ? Is this 
national honor ? Is this becoming a high-minded and 
Christian nation ? What, in the name of justice and hu- 
manity, I ask, are we doing ? Are we fighting for conquest 
and territory ? We do not want the mines, the mountains, 
the morasses, and the sterile lands of Mexico. Why then 
this waste and havoc of human life, treasure, and blood? 
Let Congress or the President, clearly explain the reasons 
and object of this war. I fear there are reasons, in the secret 
council chambers of this nation, which are not yet fully re- 
vealed. I fear — I do fear that conquest is our object, 
that we may extend over that vast territory the dark realm 
of slavery. And against this, as an humble citizen of this 
republic, I do and ivill protest. We do not want Mexico 
on any condition — our territory is already sufficiently vast. 
Let me not be told, that it is a rich country — a great acquisi- 
tion. If the object is to extend and perpetuate slavery, I 
would scorn to receive it, were its plains paved with gold, 
and its mountains studded all over with diamond-rocks — 



21 

yea, if it were the paradise of Heaven, I would not lake it 
on these conditions. Whatever may be the secret or avow- 
ed object of this war, it js a foul blot upon our national ho- 
nor. If. is supremely contemptible for this Christian and 
great nation, and in the full blaze of the nineteenth century, 
to stoop from her high dignity, and go to war with a half- 
civilized, barbarous, weak and defenceless people. Lot me 
net be told, that God will overrule it all for the good of 
Mexico — that He designs, by these means, to break the 
spell of a false religion, and introduce to the darkened minds 
o f her children, the light of a pure Christianity. Whatever 
the Arbiter of nations, in his gracious sovereignty, may do, 
have we an unqualified license to commit evil, that good 
may come ? Must we pause to refute this papal dogma, 
exploded by the light of a by-gone age? In every aspect 
in which we can look at the existing war, it is superlatively 
wrong, and it should receive, as it deserves, the frown of all 
Christendom. Its existence mars the sacred festivities of 
this hallowed occasion. It makes us put the cup of national 
blessing to our lips with a trembling hand. 

I have now, my brethren, brought under review some of 
the causes of national solicitude. I have designed to state 
the truth with all plainness and fidelity. I would not need- 
lessly offend the feelings or prejudices of any, but, on this 
day, I felt that I should be justified in departing somewhat 
from the ordinary topics of pulpit discourse. But can I be 
accused of departing from the truth 1 Might not much 
more be said in perfect consistency with existing facts in our 
country's history ? 

Are we not as a nation becoming more and more lax in 
our morals ? Does not the belief, in an all-seeing God sit 
loosely upon multitudes of the people ? Is not the Sabbath 
desecrated and set at naught? Has not the red man been 
wronged — driven from the graves of his fathers and scat- 
tered, like the leaves of his native forests ? Is not infidelity 
permitted to stalk abroad unrebuked? Is not the power of 



22 

the Roman Pontiff increasing? Has not the spirit of honor- 
able, confidence, of high-minded Christian patriotism for.- 
saken, to a great extent, our halls of legislation ? Are not the 
high seats of the venerated dead occupied, in some in- 
stances, by men, who glory in their shame — who publicly 
set at naught the admonitions of the pulpit — who speak of 
the religion of their forefathers as an idle drearn, and laugh 
emptily at its obligations ? No means are left untried to lift 
these very men to the high seats they dishonor ? And do 
they represent the feelings and sentiments of those who send 
them ? If not, why are they there? Why are they permit- 
ted to come down upon our national and State capitols, 
like clouds of devouring locusts, consuming all that is fair 
and lovely in the principles of our Protestant faith ? But, I 
will not enlarge. Let these facts mingle their influence 
with the festivities of this occasion. Let us rejoice, with trem- 
bling. * * The text, my brethren, has a more local and per- 
sonal application. As a Church, we have great occasion to 
rejoice. God has gone before us, a weak and feeble band, 
removing obstacles, and crowning our efforts with signal 
success. He has more than realized our most sanguine ex- 
pectations. We have been enabled, with His blessing, to 
rear this desirable edifice, and we now worship within its 
consecrated walls. It is meet for us to rejoice, but yet, let us 
do it with trembling. If we become spiritually proud — if 
we do not duly appreciate our privileges — if we do not keep 
holy fire burning on our altars, God may remove the candle- 
stick out of its place, and dispossess us of our beautiful 
temple. I say then, in the language of the text, " Serve the 
Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling." 

But the sermon has a still more personal application. You 
are now happy in your social and domestic relations, and in 
these you rejoice. Your children are the joy of your hearts, 
and the pride of your eyes. Your companions smile upon 
you, and greet you with full-hearted affection. These are 
some of the beautiful rills, which Providence has sent spark- 



23 

ling and flovving over the wastes of human life. And how 
they invigorate and refresh us, as we drink at their fountains. 
We greatly rejoice in these blessings, but let us do it with 
trembling. We hold them by a very frail and uncertain 
tenure. 

Our hearths, now bright with the sunshine of happy faces, 
may soon be darkened. Our halls, now vocal with joyous 
voices, all music to our ears, may soon be silent. Bitter 
dregs may be mingled in our cup of blessing, and the bare 
possibility of such an event, makes us, even now, drink it with 
trembling. * * * Since the last yearly festival, how 
many fond parents have seen their bright and beautiful laid 
in the dusi, and they have refused to be comforted because 
they are not ! How many wives have been left widows, 
and how many husbands have wept over the graves of the 
loved and the lost ! Oh I in a world like this, can we rejoice 
otherwise than with trembling? Let us look up hopefully to 
that world, where death enters never, where there is no dan- 
ger of forfeiture or change, where those we have loved will 
love in return forever ; 

" Tliere fragrant flowers immortal bloom, 
And joys supreme are given ; 
There rays divine disperse the gloom, 
Beyond the conlines of the tomb 
Appears the dawn of heaven." 



